Sleep in the Mishnah V: Seder Nezikin

April 22, 2020 0 By Rabbi Drew

The key concern for Seder Nezikin is damages, therefore culpability is a key concern:

Culpability
One who is sleeping has a mixture of culpability. In this first example, a sleeper is culpable for damages (mBava Kamma 2.6):

אדם מועד לעולם–בין שוגג בין מזיד, בין ער בין ישן. סימא את עין חברו, ושיבר את הכלים–משלם נזק שלם

Human beings are always an attested danger, whether the damage is caused inadvertently or deliberately, whether the person who caused the damage is awake or asleep. If a man blinded his fellow’s eye or broke his utensils he must pay full damages.

However, despite responsibility for damages, a sleeper can also be exempt for another matter (mBava Kamma 8.1):

החובל בחברו, חייב עליו משום חמישה דברים–בנזק, בצער, בריפוי, בשבת, ובבושת. ב
….
בושת: הכול לפי המבייש, והמתבייש.
המבייש את הערום, המבייש את הסומא, והמבייש את הישן–חייב; וישן שבייש, פטור.

נפל מן הגג, והזיק ובייש–חייב על הנזק ופטור על הבושת: שנאמר “ושלחה ידה, והחזיקה במבושיו” (דברים כה,יא)–אינו חייב על הבושת, עד שיהא מתכוון

He who wounds his fellow is liable to compensate him on five counts: for injury, for pain, for healing, for loss of income, and for indignity.

‘Indignity’: All is according to the status of the one that inflicts indignity and the status of the one that suffers indignity.
If one inflicted indignity on a naked man, or a blind man, or a sleeping man, he is [still] liable. But a sleeper who inflicts indignity is exempt.
If a man fell from the roof and caused injury and inflicted indignity, he is liable for the injury but not for the indignity, as it says, “And she puts forth her hand and grabs him by the private parts”, a man is liable only when he intended [to inflict indignity].

Here, sleepers are considered as to be unconcerned with having indignity inflicted, which can be seen from both the perspective of the culprit and the victim. From the victim’s side, the one experiencing this indignity is paired with one who is naked and one who is blind, one who is asleep is able to receive appropriate payment. From the culprit’s side, even though they they might inflict indignity, they were asleep and, as such, are exempt, as they had no intention to carry out such indignity on their fellow. This is not dissimilar from what we saw in Seder Kodashim that if one was sleeping and an forbidden sexual encounter occurred, the sleeper is exempt (mKeritut 2.6).

Sound Civic Responsibility
Similar to culpability is the concern for responsibility in order to allow people to sleep with regards to commerce (mBava Batra 2.3):

לא יפתח אדם חנות של נחתומין ושל צבעין, תחת אוצרו של חברו; ולא רפת בקר.
באמת, ביין התירו; אבל לא רפת בקר.
חנות שבחצר–יכול למחות בידו ולומר לו איני יכול לישן לא מקול הנכנסין, ולא מקול היוצאין.
ועושה כלים, ויוצא ומוכר בשוק; אבל אינו יכול למחות בידו ולומר לו איני יכול לישן, לא מקול הפטיש, ולא מקול הריחיים, ולא מקול התינוקות

One may not open a bakery or a dyer’s shop under his fellow’s storehouse, nor a cattle stall.
In truth, they have permitted these things under a winestore but not a cattle stall.
A man may protest against [another that opens] a shop within the courtyard and say to him, “I cannot sleep because of the noise of them that go in and out.”
One who makes utensils, should go outside and sell them in the market. But none may protest and say to him, “I cannot sleep because of the noise of the hammer” or “because of the noise of the mill-stones” or “because of the noise of children.”

Here, we see two different situations where the ability to sleep with regards to commercial activities: one in which one can stop a shopkeeper in one’s courtyard, as those coming and going can be auditorily disruptive to those sleeping in the neighborhood. However, there are limits to this ability, as one is not able to protest one who makes items in the marketplace, even from noisier activities than simply those coming and going, – is the marketplace a noisier place?

Swearing Off Sleep?
The sages note the absurdity of swearing off sleep (mShevuot 3.5):

אחד דברים של עצמו, ואחד דברים של אחרים, ואחד דברים שיש בהן ממש, ואחד דברים שאין בהן ממש.
כיצד: אמר שבועה שאתן לאיש פלוני ושלא אתן, שנתתי ושלא נתתי, שאישן ושלא אישן, שישנתי ושלא ישנתי, שאזרוק צרור לים ושלא אזרוק, שזרקתי ושלא זרקתי–רבי ישמעאל אומר, אינו חייב אלא לעתיד לבוא, שנאמר “להרע או להיטיב” (ויקרא ה,ד). אמר לו רבי עקיבה, אם כן אין לי אלא דברים שיש בהן הרעה והטבה, דברים שאין בהן הרעה והטבה מניין. אמר לו, מריבוי הכתוב. אמר לו, אם ריבוי הכתוב לכך, ריבוי הכתוב לכך

It is the same [whether he swears of] things concerning himself, or of things concerning others, or of things which have substance, or of things which have no substance.
How so? [If] he said, “I swear that I shall give to so-and-so”, or “I shall not give”; “I have given”, or “I have not given”; “I shall sleep”, or “I shall not sleep”; “I have slept”, or “I have not slept”; “I shall throw a pebble into the sea”, or “I shall not throw”; “I have thrown”, or “I have not thrown”; [he is liable.]
Rabbi Yishmael says: “He is liable only for [an oath with regards to] the future, for it says, ‘To do bad or to do good’ (Leviticus 5:4).”
Rabbi Akiva said to him: “If so, we would know only such cases where doing evil and doing good are applicable; but how do we know such cases where doing evil and doing good are not applicable?”
He said to him: “From the amplification of the verse.”
He said to him: “If the verse amplifies for that, it amplifies for this also.”

Whether in the past tense or the future tense, or whether to sleep or not to sleep are all considered to be things that are not concrete (things that do not have any substance to them).

Removal From the World
A fascinating pairing with wine is sleep, as found in this text (mSanhedrin 8.5):

בן סורר ומורה, יידון על שם סופו–ימות זכאי, ואל ימות חייב: שמיתתן של רשעים–הניה להם, והניה לעולם; ולצדיקים–רע להם, ורע לעולם. יין ושינה לרשעים–הניה להם, והניה לעולם; ולצדיקים–רע להם, ורע לעולם. פיזור לרשעים–הניה להם, והניה לעולם; ולצדיקים–רע להם, ורע לעולם. כינוס לרשעים–רע להם, ורע לעולם; ולצדיקים–הניה להם, והניה לעולם. שקט לרשעים–רע להם, ורע לעולם; ולצדיקים–הניה להם, והניה לעולם

A “wayward and rebellious son” is judged on account of his outcome: let him die innocent and let him not die guilty. For the death of the wicked benefits themselves and the world; [and the death] of the righteous, injures themselves and the world d. Wine and sleep of the wicked benefit themselves and the world; of the righteous, injure themselves and the world The scattering of the wicked benefits themselves and the world; of the righteous, injures themselves and the world. The assembling of the wicked injures themselves and the world; of the righteous, benefits themselves and the world. The tranquillity of the wicked injures themselves and the world; of the righteous, benefits themselves and the world.

In this sole pairing with wine in the Mishnah, this duo is described as taking people out of their functions within society, which is good for the wicked to be taken out of action, but also deeply unfortunate that the righteous who activate and reify goodness in the world are taken out of action.